This invention relates to sealed volume cartridges and more specifically to sealed volume cartridges having a propellant formulation comprising materials whose combustion products are highly condensible.
A sealed volume cartridge such as a stores-separation impulse cartridge is typically an electrically ignited solid propellant cartridge designed to produce high ballistic gas power for a short duration. The theoretical energy of propellants used in such cartridges is in the neighborhood of 400,000 footpounds per pound of propellant and this energy is packaged in a compact cartridge envelope. For this reason, the cartridge is widely used as a power source for stores-separation equipment.
The first use of sealed volume cartridges began in the 1940's when it became apparent that a forceful ejection from high-speed aircraft was necessary. Air turbulence exists near the body and wings of aircraft, and stores must be forcibly ejected through the turbulence for clean and safe separation from the aircraft. The consequences of an ineffective ejection are stores tumbling, random motion, and possible impact with the aircraft.
Since the 1940's the number of stores separation applications has increased and new requirements have evolved. Additional cartridges have been added to fleet use to meet the new requirements. The ballistic power performance was changed to obtain higher efficiency by substituting a progressive burning grain design in place of the solid grains previously used. In addition, improved resistance to various environmental conditions such as altitude, and temperature was obtained by cartridge case design modifications.